2014 Inductees

Rochester Music Hall of Fame Class of 2014

Duke Jupiter is one of the most popular rock bands and recording artists to come out of Rochester — so popular they were banned from performing at city-sponsored events after an unexpected 25,000 fans turned out for a free concert in June 1982 at Ontario Beach Park. The fans caused the biggest traffic jam in Rochester history, which made national news including reports on MTV. Active from1973 to1986, Duke Jupiter released nine albums; had four videos featured on MTV; appeared on “Solid Gold”; and toured with some of the biggest acts of the late ’70s and early ’80s, including REO Speedwagon, ZZ TOP, Foreigner, Blue Oyster Cult, and David Bowie.

David Hochstein (1892-1918) is considered to be one of the finest violinists America ever produced. From New York to Berlin he was hailed a genius of the violin. The Hochstein School of Music and Dance is his memorial. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, his father gifted him his first violin on his fifth birthday. At age 10 he was discovered by his benefactor Emily Sibley Watson while practicing violin at her neighbor’s home. She ensured he received the finest training available, including in Vienna, where he earned prestigious awards, and later in St. Petersburg, Russia, financed by RMHF inductee George Eastman. Hochstein made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1915 and went on to perform and compose in major U.S. and European cities. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 and lost his life the following year leading World War 1 soldiers into battle. Rochester musicians, along with Watson and Eastman, established a memorial music school in his name, which was first housed in the Hochstein family home on Joseph Avenue and ultimately in its current location on Plymouth Avenue.

Emily Sibley Watson (1855-1945) contributed much to the enrichment of the city’s cultural life through her generosity as a patron of art and music. Few have been as instrumental in shaping the cultural landscape of Rochester, where, as heir to her father’s Western Union telegraph fortune, she bestowed her riches upon the community. She single-handedly founded the Memorial Art Gallery, in honor of her son, and helped launch the Rochester Civic Music Association. She also was the driving force behind the establishment of the David Hochstein Memorial Music School, with assistance from RMHF inductee George Eastman and Rochester musicians. Continuing today, as Watson had planned from its inception, enrollment in Hochstein’s programs is open to the entire community, welcoming and nurturing students of all ages, all levels of skill, and all backgrounds.

The House of Guitars® (aka The Great, Great House of Guitars and “the store that ate my brain”) is considered the world’s largest music store and for 50 years has been viewed as a musician’s paradise, known to artists worldwide and loved by local fans. It is a store for the pros and those who want to sound like the pros. The House of Guitars® (HOG) customer and fan list includes Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Cheap Trick, Marilyn Manson, Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith, and Metallica. Upon visiting the store, Metallica members declared, “There are things here I’ve only seen in magazines. And dreams.” What sets the HOG apart is its museum-like aura and its winding rooms filled with gear and records, featuring millions of records and CDs and tens of thousands of instruments. Started by the Schaubroeck brothers out of the basement of their mother’s home in 1964, owners Armand and Bruce keep themselves in the public eye a half-century later with bizarre video commercials for the store as well as public appearances. They also give back to the community, via food drives for local food cupboards and by loaning gear to bands who are performing at fundraisers and benefits. The HOG is revered as the best-known indie music store in the country and has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal and People magazine and Esquire magazine named it the #2 stop on its roadmap of musical America.

WDKX radio station has been independently owned and operated since it first went on the air 40 years ago. In keeping with its Urban Contemporary format, founder Andrew A. Langston chose call letters that honored African-American heroes — “D” for Frederick Douglass, “K” for Martin Luther King Jr., and “X” for Malcolm X. WDKX has a long history of community service and has remained locally owned, even as many commercial stations around the country have been absorbed into larger conglomerates. WDKX’s wide-ranging playlists feature classic soul and R&B and hip hop. Its popularity unwavering, the station currently ranks among the top rated-stations in the region, both urban and suburban, and ranks second overall in the Rochester market in recent ratings surveys.

2014 Special Merit Award Winners

Ethel Gabriel is Grammy-winning producer, in fact the first female record producer. She produced more 2,500 albums in her 40-year career with RCA. Among the many names she worked with are Elvis, Harry Belafonte, Neil Sedaka, Perry Como, Henry Mancini, and Dolly Parton.

Peter Morticelli has held a plethora of job titles in the music business — musician, recording artist, record-company owner, record producer, production consultant, record-shop owner, booking agent, and personal manager. Among his many milestones is the instrumental role he played in the success of Rochester’s own Duke Jupiter. He remains the president of Pelican Marketing & Management Inc. and Magna Carta Records.